Soap box holder



July 28, 1964 s. MANDICH 3,142,414

SOAP BOX HOLDER Filed May 11, 1961 INVENTOR. SOPHIE MANDIC H UnitedStates Patent 3,142,414 SOAP BOX HOLDER Sophie Mandich, 7016 S. 30thSt., Omaha, Nehr. Filed May 11, 1961, Ser. No. 109,398 1 Claim. (Cl.22085) This invention relates to soap box holders and more particularlyit is an object of this invention to provide a soap box holder which canbe held with wet, and sometimes soapy hands, more easily than soap boxholders of the prior art.

A common problem has been that granulated soap boxes are handled withwet hands whereby the glue comes apart and the soap spills out on thefloor as is frustratingly common.

Also soap boxes are often set on the top of a wet table or wet washingmachine surface whereby the glue on the bottom of such boxes quicklyloosens and the soap spills out.

It is my belief that it is because of the absence from the market of agenerally available soap box holder that the liquid detergents have comeinto greater use, even though some of the latter are more expensive.

The cardboard soap boxes deform quickly even when they do not breakbecause they are easily pressed in when partially empty and they soonbecome dilapidated and unsightly from being handled with wet hands.Other attempts to solve this problem have not met with generalacceptance.

I am aware that others have heretofore proposed soap boxes formed ofplastic or the like, however, these have always had disadvantages. Achief disadvantage has been the absence of suitable means on the boxholder to facilitate gripping it as plastic, held in soapy hands, iseven more slippery than cardboard.

I am aware that a knurled criss-cross rough surface has been proposedfor the wall of a milk carton holder. But while this may be sufficientfor milk or an item carried when the hands are dry, it cannot solve theproblem for items carried with wet soapy hands.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a concept ofadequate means to prevent the soap box from slipping out of the hands asno means has ever been proposed for soap boxes by the prior art.

The second disadvantage of soap boxes of the prior art is that they havebeen designed as dispensing containers whereby they have had closeableopenings through which soap is poured. This has led to unnecessaryexpense and it is my belief that this expense has been a contributingfactor to the unavailability of these soap box containers and theirabsence from broad general use.

The concept of making the soap box container into a dispenser has led toextra cost, not only from necessity of a moveable closure means, butalso from the need to cover the top part of the soap box so thatdispensed soap must pass through a box container dispensing port. It isan object of this invention to provide a concept of a simplicity of asoap box holder without a costly top whereby the holder can be marketedat a price leading to mass production and general availability.

Soap boxes can always be opened to a limited extent for controlleddispensing whereby the soap box itself is a dispenser whereby it is myconcept that it is wasteful and that there is no need to provide adispenser to contain a dispenser.

Soap boxes are usually printed with various recipes, housekeepingsuggestions, and other interesting information continually being variedby the manufacturers. The only soap boxes heretofore proposed have beenformed of opaque containers and it is an object of this invention toprovide a soap box container which is formed of transparent material.

A further object is to provide a specific and adequate means forpreventing soap boxes from slipping out of wet soapy hands, such meansbeing much different and more extensive than has been proposed for milkcarton containers.

A still further object is to provide a soap box container with a ridgeextending vertically down the side,

across which the fingers extend such that, in effect, the container iswider in the portion of the container that is gripped and whereby ledgemeans is provided around which the fingers can extend for the effectivecontrol of a slippery soap box.

Still another object is to provide a soap box container which has spacedprotrusions extending outwardly from its side, the protrusions beingextensive enough to be effectively gripped by fingers to prevent theslipping away of the container.

A further object is to provide a soap box container, the grippingsurfaces of which are achieved by means of spaced openings extendingdeep into and preferably through the soap box container whereby it iscontrollable.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbe apparent from the following detailed description, drawings and claim,the scope of the invention not being limited to the drawings themselvesas the drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating a way in whichthe principles of this invention can be applied.

Other embodiments of the invention utilizing the same or equivalentprinciples may be used and structural changes may be made as desired bythose skilled in the art without departing from the present inventionand th purview of the appended claim.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a soap box which is received in a soapbox container of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of a modification of the container of FIGURE1 in which upright outwardly protruding portions facilitate gripping thecontainer.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of a modification of this invention inwhich the container has spaced openings to facilitate gripping thecontainer.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation of a modification of the invention in whichthe container has spaced protrusions on the side thereof forfacilitating gripping of the container.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along line 66 of FIGURE 5.

Referring to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that the soap box container ofthis invention is generally shown at 10 having side walls 12, a bottomwall 14, as seen in FIG- URE 2, two of the side walls 12 actually beingend walls 16 since the general shape of the side wall configuration isrectangular to fit closely to a common soap box 18, having a pouringspout 20.

The bottom wall 14 having an under surface which is adapted to hold theupper side of the bottom wall horizontal for holding the soap box 18upright when the bottom of the container is rested on a horizontalsurface.

The container 10 has an open upper end into which a soap box can beplaced. The upper edge 28 of the container 10 is preferably disposed ata height substantially below the top of the soap box for economy ofmaterial and manufacture. The material used is preferably of atransparent plastic so that printed matter as indicated at 30 on thesoap box 18 can be seen therethrough.

Such printed matter can be instructions, advice, soap box top premiums,and various other items normally printed on a soap box and it isimportant that all of these can be read through the soap box. Sometimesthis advice is a cooking recipe.

The container can have some means thereon for facilitating the effectivemaintenance of a hand-grip at times when the hands and the box areslippery with soap solution as is common. A preferred form of such meansis shown in FIGURE 2 in which the soap box has at least one outwardlyoffset protruding portion 40 protruding outwardly from the side of thecontainer for providing a ledge 42 which is disposed extending uprightwith respect to the container and against which the fingers 50 can beengaged for the firm holding of the box.

It will be seen in FIGURE 2 that the protruding portion 40 does notextend outwardly from the adjacent side of the box substantially morethan the minimum necessary for gripping of the box by the extendedfingers of the hand of the operator.

It will be seen that because the container is made of plastic, and inorder to hold the shape making the ledges 42 meaningful, the containermust and does have a construction sufficiently rigid as to substantiallyhold its shape when gripped by the operatorshand. In this way it isdistinguished from mere lapping materials as it is a supersustainingplastic container.

FIGURE 4 shows a modified container 12" having spaced openings 54through sides thereof to facilitate gripping the container.

FIGURE shows a modified container 13 having a plurality of spacedprotrusions 60 spaced outwardly from the sides thereof for facilitatinggripping the container. The protrusions 60 will be found to make itpossible to grip container 13 much more firmly when its surfaces areslippery with soapy water.

From the foregoing description, it is thought to be obvious that a soapbox holder constructed in accordance with my invention is particularlywell adapted for use, by reason of the convenience and facility withwhich it may be assembled and operated, and it will also be obvious thatmy invention is susceptible of some change and modification withoutdeparting from the principles and spirit thereof, and for this reason, Ido not wish to be undesrtood as limiting myself to the precisearrangement and formation of the several parts herein shown in carryingout my invention in practice, except as claimed.

I claim:

A soap box container of oblong rectangular shape in horizontal crosssection having side walls and a bottom wall and being adapted to receiveand support a soap box above a surface on which the container is rested,said container having an open upper end through which the upper portionof the soap box can extend whereby the container can be economicallymanufactured, said container further having means thereon sufficient forthe effective maintenance of a hand grip at times when the hands and boxare slippery with soap solution, and said container being sufficientlyrigid so as to substantially hold its shape when gripped by an operatorshand, said means for facilitating gripping of said box comprising atleast one offset portion protruding outwardly from said container, saidoffset portion not protruding outwardly from the container substantiallygreater than the minimum necessary for gripping by the extended fingers,said offset portion providing a ledge extending upright with respect tothe container against which the fingers can be engaged to firmly holdthe box.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.67,959 Javal Aug. 11, 1925 2,008,316 Stearns July 16, 1935 2,600,911Olson June 17, 1952 2,755,922 Volekening July 24, 1956 2,843,302 BandyJuly 15, 1958 2,932,423 Baumgartner Apr. 12, 1960 2,932,437 Wilcox Apr.12, 1960 2,944,700 Stevenson July 12, 1960

